IDOLATRY FORBIDDEN

IDOLATRY FORBIDDEN


In the book of Exodus the Lord gives the law to the Israelites. The Ten Commandments and this is what it says…

Exodus 20:1-6

“ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

“ You shall have no other gods, before me.

“ You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Note: The Lord has given us the right to choose either life or death…. Obedience to our Father and Creator brings life and prosperity. Disobedience to Him brings death and destruction. What will you choose? It does not matter what that image may be or what it may represent. The Lord is very clear that we cannot make an image in the form of anything. (In heaven above or on the earth beneath or the waters below) You may call these images “saints” and Our Creator calls them “idols”. If you are bowing down to these images/idols and worshiping them, praying to them ... Whether you know it or not, you’re committing a great sin. You’re arousing our Creator’s jealousy… Are we stronger than He?

In the book of Deuteronomy 4:15-19 it says:

"You saw "NO FORM" of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that "YOU DO NOT" become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of ANY shape, whether formed like a man OR a woman, OR like any animal on earth OR any bird that flies in the air, OR like any creature that moves along the ground OR any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and stars – all the heavenly array – "DO NOT" be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven."

Note: Verses 23-24 of the same chapter (4) Moses reminds the people NOT to forget the covenant that they had made with the Lord…

“BE CAREFUL NOT" to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; "DO NOT" make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a CONSUMING FIRE, A JEALOUS GOD." (See also Hebrews 12:29)

Let me show you how serious this is to God:

In the book of Deuteronomy Ch.31: Verses 16-18 God tells Moses of Israel’s rebellion.

"And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people "WILL SOON PROSTITUTE" themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They WILL forsake me and BREAK the covenant I made with them. On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. (Don’t miss this last verse!) MANY disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, ‘ Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us? And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of ALL their wickedness in TURNING to other gods."


Note: God gave Moses "a song", so that, it might be a witness between God and the people in their rebellion against Him, which would take place sometime in the future. (Deuteronomy 31:19) In the next chapter 32 we read of that song… Here are a few verses of that song.

Chapter 32: 16-18

"They made Him JEALOUS" with their foreign gods and "ANGERED" him with their detestable idols.

On the next verse we see what God sees in these idols…

“ They sacrificed to "DEMONS", which are NOT God­ - (Demons can manifest through idols)
gods they had NOT known,
gods that recently appeared,
gods your fathers did not fear."

And by turning from God and serving idols, the Israelites deserted the GOD, that brought them out of the land of slavery.... "You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
You forgot the God who gave you birth."


Note: These idols/images are man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear, or eat, or smell. They cannot help you in times of trouble and they definitely can’t save you or get you into Heaven. For the Bible says… “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Jesus is the only way to heaven. (Acts 4:12, John 3:16-18, Isaiah 45:20, Habakkuk 2:18-19, Revelation 9:20)

Note: The only thing that idol worshiping brings is destruction and a curse for a people, for a nation. (Deuteronomy 27:15 & Deuteronomy 30:17-18) This is the penalty for turning from the "ONE TRUE GOD", Creator of heaven and earth and worshiping worthless things. The Lord "ALONE" is God; besides Him there is "NO" other. (Isaiah 45:5)

You may say to yourself … That’s the Old Testament and that’s how God did things back then…I will show you in the New Testament that "idolatry" is still a detestable sin to the Creator. The God that we serve is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

In the book of Acts 14:8-18 …we read of Paul and Barnabas in the cities of Lystra and Derbe…

“ In the Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “ Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk." (Watch what happens to Paul and Barnabas after this man received his healing)..."When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “ The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. (There goes out the window, the big bang theory)

Note: The servants of God are not to be worship. God gave all his disciples/ apostles … Power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:1-2/ Matthew 10:1) Paul was called later by God to be an Apostle and to carry the Lord’s name to the Gentiles…You can read about his conversion in the book of Acts 9:1-22.  Paul had the same authority as the other Apostles. These chosen men are the instruments that the Lord used to demonstrate His power…They’re coming in His name (Jesus Christ) and pointing men to Him. So they are not to be made into an idol/image and be worshiped. It is forbidden.

In the book of Acts Paul tells the men of Athens this concerning idolatry…

“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, (With this statement Paul knocks off the Darwin Theory also) we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead(Jesus Christ)."~Acts 17:29-31

In the book of Romans we read of the punishment for the sin of idolatry…

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.THEREFORE GOD GAVE THEM OVER in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. THEY EXCHANGED" the truth of God FOR a lie, "AND WORSHIPED AND SERVED" created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. (Watch This... Don't Miss It!) BECAUSE OF THIS, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."~Romans 1:21-27 (No one is born a homosexual as some may think…According to the "WORD OF GOD" it is the result for worshipping and serving created things rather than the Creator.)

Note: The book of Romans says: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie… Let me show you what this means…

The Bible says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) And the lie, that man has taught is, that the world was formed by this “Big Bang Theory”.

The Bible says: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27) And man has taught, that the human race has descended from monkey’s…“Darwin’s Theory”

And then we wonder, why have "ALL" these calamites and disasters have fallen on our nation…It is time to repent from all these sins and turn to the one true God and serve Him only. . He is our Father…our Creator…our loving and merciful God.

Note: The Bible says… that God is a jealous God. He says of Himself… “For your maker is your husband…(Isaiah 54:5, Jeremiah 3:14) and as your husband … He considers the "sin of idolatry" as your committing adultery against Him. “Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.” (Jeremiah 3:9)

You are being unfaithful (cheating) on your Creator by worshipping and serving created things instead of worshiping and serving Him…Who is the one true God! GOD created the world and everything in it for the benefit of man and then man turns around and worships and serves those created things…What a let down this is to our Creator.

Now that you heard from the Lord…What are you going to do? “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7)

The LORD Says: “Turn to me and be saved, ALL you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is "NO OTHER.” (Isaiah 45:22)~Amen


GOD BLESS YOU NOW AND ALWAYS
YOUR FRIEND,
VICKY RIVERA